Flat, multiconductor, flexible cable has come into extensive use and generally comprises a ribbon of tape of an insulative material enclosing a plurality of round or thin flat conductors disposed in spaced, parallel relation. In certain applications, such flat cables are electrically shielded to prevent cross-talk or to reduce electrostatic interference. Shielded flat cable, sometimes referred to as ground plane cable, is made, for example, by laminating or extruding a wire mesh or perforated metal foil to one or both sides of the cable with an outer layer of insulative material being applied over the shield. Connection of the shield to a ground or drain conductor is obtained by exposing a portion of one or more of the conductors such that the shield is pressed into continuous contact therewith along the length of the cable during assembly.
In mass terminating shielded electrical cable, problems have been encountered, especially with insulation displacement techniques, as the shield presents an impediment to ready termination. In common practice, the shield is stripped or peeled from the cable and the conductors and shield are then terminated separately. The dilemma faced by the practitioner is that the cable components, namely, the cable core with conductors, ground shield and overlying outer insulation are normally required to have sufficiently strong bonding or adhesion to each other so as to withstand temperature variations or physical movements such as flexing without resulting in separation while yet the bond strength between such components should be low enough to facilitate separation when termination is desired. Another problem in separating shielded cable components is encountered in assuring a reliable connection to the drain wire. In exposing portions of the drain wire to make contact with the ground shield, the drain wire is thereby not fully surrounded by the casing insulation in the cable core. Accordingly, its retention capability in the cable core is weakened. In stripping the shield from the cable core, inadvertent pulling of the drain wire from the cable core can result in failure to make a connection thereto in particular where all the cable conductors are mass terminated with insulation displacement techniques. It is therefore desirable to provide a shielded cable, readily strippable for mass termination which overcomes the problems in the field.